Williamson Medical Center (WMC), one of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s affiliates, announced plans this week to expand its facility through construction to include upgraded surgical suites and an adjoining tower for pediatric services to be built adjacent to WMC’s existing emergency department.
The proposed expansion includes a three-story pediatric tower, with two floors of space to include a pediatric emergency department, located in the tower’s first floor, a 12-bed pediatric inpatient unit and four pediatric observation beds, which are planned to be located in the tower’s third floor.
The new pediatric tower will bear the name, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Williamson Medical Center.
The construction is part of WMC’s planned growth strategy, which also includes additional space within the new tower for future expansion of the Medical Center’s Labor and Delivery Department.
“As more families move to the area and the needs of our community continue to expand, we must broaden our services to meet those expectations,” says Don Webb, F.H.F.M.A., WMC chief executive officer. “When it comes to the health of their children, parents want to know their young ones will be treated with exceptional specialized care. Through our affiliation with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, we will be able to provide the highest quality pediatric care right here in Williamson County at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Williamson Medical Center.”
As a result of the strategic affiliation agreement signed last September between WMC and VUMC, the new pediatric tower will provide a collaborative approach to care between Williamson Medical Center and Vanderbilt physicians and staff.
“Our affiliation with Williamson Medical Center created this important opportunity to expand the scope of pediatric services in Williamson County,” says C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs for Vanderbilt University and CEO of the Vanderbilt Health System. “We hope the families of Williamson County will be pleased to learn they will be able to more conveniently receive a broad scope of children’s services currently available only at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.”
With Williamson Medical Center’s Emergency Department already treating more than 6,000 children annually, hospital officials saw a growing need for increased services.
“We are excited to collaborate with Williamson Medical Center to bring Children’s Hospital’s range of comprehensive services to children and families in Williamson County, which is one the fastest growing areas in the state,” said Luke Gregory, chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital. “This valuable partnership will directly address the growing need for pediatric health care in the area, and deliver convenient access and compassionate, family-centered care to the community’s doorstep.
“In addition, the facility will be a great resource for the more than 3,000 Vanderbilt employees who live in Williamson County and are enrolled in the Vanderbilt Health Plan,” said Gregory.
Pending approval from the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency, WMC’s multi-phase, multi-year project will mark the first major campus expansion in eight years and the second time since moving to its current location in 1986.
